Can I take my FV out of the chamber now?

Hi,

I have had Yooper's Oatmeal Stout in my fermentation chamber for one week. Recipe calls for 3 weeks at 64 degrees. I want to brew an IPA next weekend, but its not really possible to manage two different fermentation temperatures in one chamber.

Now, I've read multiple times that off-flavors are really only produced in the first few days of active fermentation, which leads me to my question. In my example, would there be any noticeable difference in the flavor of the stout if I took it out of the fermentation chamber for the final two weeks and let sit in the garage? Ambient varies from low 60s at night to low 70s during the day. Again, its already been fermenting for a week and active ferm has subsided.

I sort of asked this question before but didn't get any real replies but how do you all manage multiple fermentations with one fermentation chamber? I've been waiting to brew my next batch until my current one is 100% done in the chamber, but I'm running out of beer in between batches and need to brew more quickly! Thanks all.

 

After a few days to a week or so, when fermentation slows significantly you can raise the temperature. This also is what the yeast really like and they will finish the job, maybe even better.

I have a fermentation chamber that I built that is big enough for 3 Better Bottles/ buckets. I put the temperature probe on the current one and let the rest of them just do what they will, mostly because I am too lazy to move them or get them packaged promptly.

 

So if I throw an IPA in there with the stout and tape the probe to it...my ambient inside the chamber might drop all the way to low 40s in order to keep that IPA fermenting at 65 (WLP001 is a beast). That means my stout temp, which is supposed to be at 64 degrees for 3 weeks, is going to drop big time and possibly stop the yeast from cleaning up. So I'm thinking its better off, at least in this case, to just take my stout out and leave at room temp?

 

I don't worry much about fermentation temp after the first week, but I'd probably try to find a place that would have a more consistent temp than a garage. I usually keep them in my basement, but any room or closet should be fine.

 

It could be that the ambient would go pretty low for a couple of days, but I have not seen mine go that low. I have a separate thermometer measuring ambient and have never seen it go below 60. So, if the first one is cold for a couple of days, I don't sweat it. As I said I get lazy so most of mine are in the chamber for 3 weeks or longer and are finished by the time I get around to doing anything with them.

I don't see any harm in moving the stout. Room temperature might even be beneficial.

 

Any off flavors and fusel alcohol will be produced in the first few days of fermentation so the temperature needs to be controlled at the cool end of the yeast's preferred temp range. After that the yeast will be doing cleanup for a few more days, then just flocculating and dropping out. The yeast do like warmer temps for cleanup and they don't like large temperature swings. I'd take the fermenter out of the chamber after 4 or 5 days and set it in a cardboard box with a jacket, towel, or sleeping bag draped over it to minimize the temperature swings of your garage and ignore it for a couple weeks.

If you expect the temperature of your garage to get too low, you could add a controlled heater in the box with the fermenter. A terrarium heater might work well if it is thermostatically controlled. Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ASFXC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

If you pitch plenty of good, healthy yeast the fermentation and most flavors are mostly done by 5-7 days. Assuming you aren't going to let it sit at of 80F or 40F you can take it out of the chamber. As mentioned, warming up to upper 60's or low 70's might help it finish and cleanup.

Why not just place it in an out of the way corner in the house, at room temperature?

 

Chances are, your stout will be done well before that IPA goes into the chamber- 3 weeks is total overkill if you ask me. I wouldn't worry about it!

 

I have not looked to see if she later changed the recipe, but in 2010, Yooper said her stout took two weeks in the fermenter, not three.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210376

As for temp swings in the garage... My FC is in my garage, and it currently holds two brews. On Sunday, a software glitch caused the internal temp to spike from 68 to about 120F and the temps of these week-old brews to top 90F. I discovered the problem a few hours later. Now, I cannot yet say the brews suffered no harm at all, but they definitely had no fusel flavors when I tasted them at 90F. I think putting your fermenter in a dark place in the garage for a week should be just fine. The beer temps will not change as rapidly as the ambient temps in the garage, and it sounds like you don't think the ambient temps will change enough to matter, either.